p On the attainment of independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress, which was the leading force of the anti-imperialist movement, formed the government of the country. It has ruled the country for the last twenty-two years. On attainment of power, the Congress Party became the ruling party of the national bourgeoisie, which gave to the feudal princes and landlords a share in the governmental power. As political power was concentrated in the hands of the bourgeoisie and other explpiting classes, the path of economic development pursued by the Congress has been and remains clearly a capitalist path.

p Suffering from colonial backwardness in which the British imperialists left the country, lacking in capital and heavy industry for swiftly overcoming its backwardness and to meet the needs of the people, the Congress Party tried its best to attract the American monopolists and the British industrialists, who had large investments in the country, to invest in heavy industry, iron and steel, engineering, chemical and oil. But the imperialists had no desire to allow this vast country to become economically independent.

p So, as of necessity, the Indian bourgeoisie turned to the socialist camp, mainly to the Soviet Union, for economic assistance to build the basic heavy industries. The Soviet Union and the countries of the socialist camp agreed and rendered immense aid.

p Seeing the socialist policy and the attraction that the socialist camp developed in the minds of’the people of the country, and the sharp protests with which the masses opposed the policy of the imperialist powers to keep India backward, imperialist monopolies were compelled to render partial aid in exchange for which, however, they pumped out enormous profits from the country.

p The situation has come to such a pass that the government now has to borrow from the foreign capital market more money even to meet the interest due on previous loans, which go on.piling up faster than before.

p For its own economic arid political aims, the government adopted a policy of non-alignment, of peace and friendship with countries of both camps. Though essentially non-aligned, and following a policy of peace, the government of India, as the representative of the national bourgeoisie, did not give unequivocal support to the national liberation movements in other countries, until mass pressure demanded it. They did not recognise the emigre revolutionary government of Algeria. As chairman of the International Control Commission for Vietnam the Indian representative tended to side more with the US version of events rather than with the Vietnamese. It did not condemn the bombing of North Vietnam though it demanded a halt to bombing, at the same time expressing an understanding of the position of the US imperialists. While willing to trade with the German Democratic Republic, it is still reluctant to recognise the GDR as an independent state, though it has long acknowledged the existence of two German states. The; Indian bourgeoisie values more the credits given by West German monopolists than the trade with the GDR. Not only West German credits but even West German ideology finds favour with certain reactionary sections of the Congress leadership.

p It has, however, to be mentioned that the Indian government has unequivocally supported the Arab countries despite the pulls arid pressures of the Israeli and US supporters in the country.

p In its relations with its neighbours, like Pakistan, Nepal, Ceylon, Burma and even China, the Indian Government has expressed itself in favour of peaceful and friendly relations and settling disputes by negotiation. But, unfortunately, India’s peaceful and independent development has always been hampered by the Anglo-US imperialist conspiracy to sow national enmity and to provoke conflicts, including armed clashes between India and the neighbouring |tate of Pakistan. In recent years the situation was further aggravated by the Chinese leadership’s incendiary policy of provoking the Pakistani ruling circles against India. The 22 days’ war between the armed forces of Pakistan and India in 1965 might have had incalculably disastrous consequences for both countries, had not the peace-loving statesmanship of the Soviet Union and its timely intervention brought the end of hostilities through the Tashkent agreement between the two warring sides, foiled the sinister game of the imperialists, reactionaries and adventurists, and opened the way for a lasting Indo-Pakistani settlement.

p Our Party, relying first and foremost on the growing democratic forces of India and Pakistan and on the common interests of the peoples of both countries, strives and will continue to strive with all its strength to convert this area of imperialist-provoked tensions into an area of peace and friendship among the neighbouring states of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. For the achievement of this aim, the great influence and prestige of the peace-loving and antiimperialist Soviet foreign policy can be a decisive force.

p Our Party also stands for and campaigns for the recognition of the German Democratic Republic, and we are happy to say that public opinion in the country is positively in favour of such recognition. We also support the initiative to open negotiations with the Chinese People’s Republic for settling the outstanding differences and building friendly and peaceful relations.

p The path of capitalist development pursued by the Congress was bound to lead to a severe political and economic crisis. Based on heavy indirect taxation, deficit financlngj inflation, growing reliance on foreign private capital, and loans borrowed from imperialist countries; based on the motive of private’ profit as the incentive for capital formation; based also on various compromises with landlord and feudal elements, our national economy landed itself in a profound economic crisis about the middle of our third Five-Year Plan, in 1964-1961

p The overall grip monopoly capital has acquired over the economy is most strikingly illustrated by the fact that within the last five years the assets of the giaat monopoly houses have almost doubled.

p The capitalist path of development ha& given rise to an enormous concentration df wealth a’nd economic power in the hands of the seventy-five monopoly houses which sit at the apex of our economic life. Particularly disturbing is the ftet that these arid other big business houses have entered into numerous collaboration agreements wjth the US, British and West German monopolists for the joint plunder of our national resources. These so-called collaboration agreements constitute an important feature of the neocolonialist drive by the US and other imperialists against our country.

p These developments are inevitably reflected in the growing attempts by reaction to gag the voice of the working class and to suppress the people’s democratic rights.

p In the receflt period the mass movements arid our Party have had to face mounting attacks on democratic rights and civil liberties. The Chinese aggression on ottf borders prbvided the Congress rulers with an opportunity to proclaim throughout the country a state of emergency which continued for five years. Fundamental fights guaranteed in the Constitution were suspended and the bureaucracy and police were invested with arbitrary powers. During this period tens of thousands of political Workers, trade unionists and others connected with mass movements were imprisoned without trial and otherwise persecuted.

p Although the emergency has been lifted, the Congress regime is still enacting repressive legislations to suppress the struggles of the working people. Certain reactionary circles are openly demanding the banning of the Communist Parties. The" central government, too, is considering new legislative measures which would invest it with powers to ban political organisations.

p FacM with the disintegration of the Congress Party and .prodded by monopolists and other vested jriterests, the Congress regime is increasingly turning against even the limited bourgeois parliamentary democracy and is under" mining it. Defence of tte political gains of the people has become an urgent task today and oirf Party^^1^^ is in the forefront of the struggle for defending and strengthening’democracy^:

p The imperialists toofc full advantage Of the difficBlties Of our national economy to toee die Indian bourgeoisie and the Indian government into surrender to «B6-colan1aiisTE pressures. They imposed the shameful step of devaluation of the rupee in 1968 as well as de^faeto abandonment of the policy of economic planning itself. Under sach piessures several positive features of the economic development have been whittled down or given up.

p These steps resulted in a further steep rise in prices, widespread closure of factories and mass unemployment, increased misery of all sections of the working masses including the white-collar workers. The rate of economic growth has fallen behind the minimum targets which were planned for. The masses reacted to this through the biggest and most massive strike struggles ever seen in the history of post-independent India. On many occasions, these struggles simultaneously enveloped not only the entire working population of cities, but life throughout an entire state was paralysed by this movement. This as what we in India call the Eandh.

p Our Party played a leading role in initiating and leading this Bandh movement which enveloped whole states throughout the length and breadth of India during the year 1966. The main slogan we ’gave—of forging an aMn united front of the Left and democratic forces to replace Congress rule—began to acquire real flesh and blood during the experiences of the Bafldh movement.

p It was the strength of this mass movement that was mainly responsible for the severe defeat sustained, by the Congress Party in the Fourth General Elections in 1967. For the first time after independence, the ruling party of the Indian bourgeoisie, the Congress Party, lost its monopoly power in nine out of the 17 states in India and its firm majority in the Indian .parliament was reduced to an unstable one of barely 40.

p Left and democratic ministries, based on fronts in which Communists played the leading role, were formed in two states. In addition, our Party entered into non-Congress Coalition ministries in three more states,

p But the Congress government at the centre and the forces of reaction could not tolerate such a situation. By flagrant violation of constitutional propriety and the norms of parliamentary democracy, by using the weapon of political blackmail and economic pressure, four of the five state ministries in which Communists were participant were illegally and arbitrarily dismissed with the help of Presidential powers and the state legislatures were dissolved. This happened in the second half of 1968.

p Mid-term elections had therefore to be. ordered in four states in February 1969. The results of these mid-term elections have ,led to the intensifieatioa of the political crisis in the country and within the ruling party itself as well as the general sharpening and polarisation of struggle between the forces of reaction on the one hand and the Left and democratic forces on the other.

p The results of these mid-terra elections have fully confirmed the validity of the central slogan our Party has issued—the unity of Left and democratic forces on the basis of a common democratic programme, to serve as a viable alternative to Congress rule. In the State of West Bengal, where such a front came into existence, the United Front secured a resounding victory over Congress and a United Front ministry in which Communists .play, the leading part has come into existence. Besides the fact that West Bengal is a state of a big concentration of heavy industry and a strong base of foreign monopoly capital in India, the significance of a firm Left and democratic United Front victory in West Bengal with Communists playing a leading role for future political development in India cannot be ovef estimated.

p In the other three states, though Such a result could not be achieved due 480 to the fact that the other Left and democratic forces did not respond to our appeal for such a firm front, the Congress Party has been badly weakened and battered. The experience of the election has also created new ways for building up unity of the Left and democratic forces and follow the example of West Bengal.

p But, above all, the results of the mid-term elections have intensified the political crisis inside the Congress Party at the centre. Everybody now realises that the last days of Congress monopoly of power at the centre have arrived. In this situation, the alternatives at the centre stand clearly posed: either a Left and democratic front is forged in time to take over power at the centre, or a reactionary combination of Right-wing parties and groups will take over power at the centre. These are the alternatives facing the country and the people. All political parties in India are discussing this situation and preparing for one or another of these alternatives.

p Polarisation has also started taking place within the Congress Party itself around these issues. The Indian monopolists and their foreign allies are trying to set up a new Right-wing reactionary coalition party to take over the state power on their behalf. In such a situation, our Party attaches the greatest importance to the urgent task of forging a Left and democratic united front on the basis of a minimum programme to serve as a viable alternative to Congress rule at the centre. We are opeking up a dialogue with the other parties of the Left on this question.

Side by side, our Party is putting forward the policy of utilising the two state governments in which Communists play a leading role in the Uni|ed Front Government—Kerala and West Bengal—of utilising the limited state power embodied in these governments as levers and instruments of securing relief for the working mass, however limited the possibilities for them may be under the present Indian Constitution, and thus of building up the strength and striking power of the Left and democratic front and of the mass organisations and mass struggles; to effect a breakthrough in other parts of the country as well as for capturing power at the centre. In these tactics, our Party is fully taking into consideration the concrete conditions of state power in India and the manner in which the fight for the power at the centre has to be conducted. Our slogan for the Left and democratic government at the centre is gaining popular support every day.